Sainsbury's replaces glass peanut butter jars with plastic

UK retailer Sainsbury’s has replaced the glass used in its peanut butter jars with plastic, cutting packaging by 83% or 882,000 kilos.

The new jars are just as functional as the previous ones, says Sainsbury’s, but the reduced weight means not only a lower environmental impact, but also less fuel required to transport. As such, the new jars could reduce Sainsbury’s carbon emissions by over 150 tons.

Stuart Lendrum, Sainsbury’s head of packaging, said: “We have the most ambitious packaging reduction target in the industry and meeting it will require hundreds of initiatives such as this. Excess packaging is one of the top concerns among customers, so it is a real priority for us. It is vital that we strike the correct balance between ensuring packaging is functional and reducing the volume we use.”

Sainsbury’s has cut packaging levels by 12 million kilos over the past year, meaning around 7% of packaging has been removed from Sainsbury’s own-brand products through new packaging design. This equates to an 11% reduction over the past two years.

Sainsbury’s adds the change, which is the first of its kind by a UK retailer, puts it well on its way to meeting its target to cut total packaging by a third by 2015.